


Reality Becomes Dreams

by PassionateFangirl



Category: Ratchet & Clank
Genre: Angst, Bonding, Chasing, Hiding in a Fridge, Hope, you can take this as clatchet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-12 12:41:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29385003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PassionateFangirl/pseuds/PassionateFangirl
Summary: After a startling revelation, Clank is forced to come clean about an experience he wished to forget.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12





	Reality Becomes Dreams

Ratchet woke up with the worst headache and a strained left pectoral. He sat up from his pretzel-position and stretched. The movement made his chest hurt, but released a lot of stress that had built up in his spine overnight.

Speaking of overnight, what a _nightmare_.

Ratchet had been fighting a villain trying to steal the concept of time, which was impossible in of itself. He remembered the enemy had a version of the Harbinger that shot down bolts of electricity, which unfortunately hit Ratchet right in the chest. He remembered falling into an abyss, then into a storm with lightning zapping him whenever it could. He heard Clank yelling for him...and that's when Ratchet woke up.

It left him with an uneasy feeling. The Lombax slapped his cheeks with both palms, tumbling out of bed. He was starving. _Food._ Maybe that would help. A quick brush of the fangs and Ratchet came downstairs, finding Clank at the breakfast table. While Clank could not actually eat food like organics could, he enjoyed the simulation of it; having his own bowl and spoon out in front of him. It made him feel a little closer to Ratchet, and a lot less awkward than just staring at one another from across the table. Beside him was a holo-paper, showing morning's news.

Ratchet rapped on the wall, alerting Clank to his presence. The defect smiled, offering him a wave. "Good morning, Ratchet." He pointed to the microwave. "I've taken the liberty of preparing your usual breakfast burrito. I did not know when you would wake up, so it hasn't been cooked yet."

"Oh? Thanks, pal." Ratchet nodded in understanding. He pressed a few numbers on the microwave and watched it work. The soggy breakfast burrito inside slowly turned from puffy and pleasurable, and the smell of delicious ingredients filled the kitchen. Ratchet pulled it out, minding the hot plate, and set it down on the counter across from Clank. The Lombax joined him, picking up the burrito with both hands, but his aura of usual vigor had not gone unnoticed by the little robot. 

Concerned, Clank looked up, raising a metaphorical brow. "What is on your mind?" He asked with a curious tone.

"Eh, nothing. Just had an insane dream."

"Will you elaborate on that dream, or...?" Clank asked politely, sliding the holo-paper to another article.

"Okay." Ratchet began his story, describing it in extreme detail and motioning his hands around to enhance the effects of his tale. Clank nodded, following along, but slowly (and to Ratchet's ignorance) the little robot lost his sense of curiosity and stared with intent fear at his friend.

"And then I woke up, and the creepiest thing was my chest _still_ hurt. I know it's probably because I slept in such a weird position, but it's still..." Ratchet trailed off, looking at Clank across the breakfast table. The robot had stiffened, gaping at him with an expression he could only amount to horror. "Clank?" He asked tentatively. "You...you good, pal?"

"I..." Clank blinked. "Perhaps I need to have a maintenance check. I'll be right back."

"Clank, I can-"

"No." The robot interrupted. "I will do this on my own. No need to trouble yourself." Clank's voice was scarily monotone, even for...well, Clank. Ratchet was left sitting in his chair, wondering what the hell just happened.

Maybe Clank did just need a quick check-up. These things happened all the time; an unfortunate side-effect of being a defect meant your systems would screw up once in a while. But Ratchet, having seen his fair share of reasons for maintenance (ranging from a constantly swiveling head to the Helipack inexplicably turning off and on again), had no idea what could have gone wrong. Something told him...Clank might have been lying.

But Clank never lies. That's Ratchet's thing.

The Lombax took a suspicious bite from his burrito, furrowing his brows. Something on his MegaWatch (a gift from his old friend Angela) beeped, an odd tone with three notes and a "bonk" sound. Ratchet opened it up to inspect it, a holographic screen popping up in front of him. It was on the calendar, an event had been outlined in red.

_Doctor's Appointment - In 20 Minutes_

"What?" Ratchet muttered to himself. He didn't remember scheduling that for today. Swallowing the bite he had taken, Ratchet turned and looked around the corner Clank had run behind. Leaving the tasteful treat behind, Ratchet crept down the hall and to the garage, gentle morning light giving the scraps of metal a fiery display.

Just beside the second workbench, Clank was walking in circles, his hands on his head in a distressed fashion. Ratchet's ears flattened at the sight, but he stayed quiet to hear what he was saying.

"It is fine, Clank. Nothing happened. You saved him. It is...just a bad dream. Unless- no, no, he _will_ be fine. You saved him. But at what cost? Did I merely prolong his death? No! That cannot be. It will be _fine_."

"...Clank?"

The little robot froze, turning slowly to see his friend. In seconds he was in a more relaxed posture, "coughing" into his hand. "Oh, hello, Ratchet. I was just finishing up." His voice sounded like he had been rehearsing this line for weeks. Ratchet shook his head gently.

"Clank. I heard you babbling to yourself." The Lombax said, his hands swaying at his sides. "What's wrong, pal?"

"Nothing is wrong."

"Clank-"

"I said, nothing is wrong. All is right in the world. I-I made sure of it."

"I know you're a bad liar, Clank. Talk to me."

"I cannot." He ran between Ratchet's legs, dashing at speeds only natural to a machine. Ratchet was left with his head hanging upside down, Clank's form getting smaller and smaller. Quickly, he threw his chest back upright and turned, making a run for his pal.

"Clank! Clank, why are you running?!" There was no answer, save for a metallic _thunk_ of a door closing. Ratchet found himself back in the kitchen, noticing a more chilled air than before. Sighing, he walked to the fridge and opened it, finding Clank huddled up inside next to the plump ironjes and juicy peliples. He frowned, kneeling down to Clank's height. "Come on. Talk to me, pal."

"You ought to shut the door. We will be wasting our refrigeration bill." He said coldly.

"Then you're coming out."

"That is not an option."

"Is now." Ratchet grabbed Clank, ignoring the little bot's squirming as he shoved him under his arm. Ratchet shut the fridge, and placed Clank on the counter. "What's going on? I'm sure we can figure out how to fix it."

Clank was silent. Rubbing a metal hand over his face, he peered up at Ratchet. "If I tell you this, it...it might..."

"Might what?" The Lombax asked, his voice getting more worked up. "Did somebody put a voice bomb on you? I swear, if they did I'll find them and gut them like-"

"No, no!" Clank interrupted. "It might break the space-time continuum!" He then put his hands over his mouth, shivering. The kitchen went silent.

Ratchet swallowed, his ears titling back. "Clank...what's going on?"

"Does your heart feel alright?"

"Clank, that's not-"

"JUST PLEASE! ANSWER THE QUERY!" Clank raised his voice, which for a being of such small stature, was quite a terrifying thing. Ratchet subconsciously put a hand to his chest, where his three-valved heart was beating. A higher pace than normal, but he was incredibly anxious, so he didn't worry about that.

"It's working fine." Ratchet moved his hand to Clank's shoulder. "Now tell me what's going on." Clank glanced up, and took the mechanical equivalent of a deep breath. His body was shuddering like an engine under Ratchet's touch.

"I used the Great Clock to alter time and save you from being killed."

That...didn't make any more sense than everything else he had said. Ratchet tsked, tapping Clank's chest vent. "Maybe you do need a tune-up."

"No, Ratchet. You-when I saved you, from being hit by Alister's energy bolt, that wasn't the first time he had made that shot. Right now I actually live 6 minutes ahead in the future." Clank shuddered again, his body wracking with grating "sobs". "You died, Ratchet. You died right in front of me, and I had to live for six minutes in a time where you no longer existed."

Ratchet's eyes widened. "What you're saying is...you went back in time? For me? Even though that's specifically what they told you _not_ to do with the Great Clock?"

"I know that, Ratchet!" Clank yelled. "I know what my father said! But you were dead! You were dead and falling and all I could do was run from Alister as he descended into madness and then I was alone in the Orvus Chamber! Alone, and all I had was a voice in my head telling me six minutes would be enough. And every day since then I worry that I haven't truly saved you, that I merely set you up for a worse fate, that time will collapse, or that you will suddenly fall dead at my feet because I could not accept losing you before!" The little bot finally broke down, letting out a scream. "I just want it to be okay!"

Ratchet stood there, letting Clank spill more and more of his feelings until he had nothing left to give. The light on his head flashing like an ambulance plane. Slowly, Ratchet took Clank into his arms and held him against his chest. How does he begin to grasp what Clank had revealed? At least the horrifying dream last night was explained. But that only raised more questions. The Lombax shivered. Was his heart truly healthy? Or would he slowly grow weaker and weaker, and this was just the beginning of a deathly illness caused by Clank's actions? He didn't know what to do or what to say or how to react. He had died, he had experienced death, and that meant-

_I'm okay._

For some reason, that's the only thought that crossed his mind. He was...okay. It was a pulled muscle, not a heart problem. He was here, alive, breathing, and holding the closest thing he could refer to as "family" in his arms. He could faintly hear him mutter "selfish, selfish". In response, Ratchet began to stroke Clank's head. He wasn't sure why, and he certainly would never discuss having done that ever again, but it just felt right for now.

"Thank you." He said.

Clank stopped babbling, the blinking red light on his head slowing down to a gentle pulse. "What?"

"You saved me. Clank, I..." Ratchet let himself breathe before continuing. "I still don't know how I feel about this, but you saved me. And you should never have to endure that by yourself, pal."

"But I could have-"

"Shut up. We disrupt reality as we know it all the time. Just promise me we'll do this together, okay?" Ratchet sniffed, blinking back tears he didn't know were there. "Together."

"...That is amiable. Together." Clank nodded.

Ratchet kept the tight hug going, tapped a finger on Clank's hull, wondering what to do next. He still needed time to comprehend what happened, the fact that Alister had managed to kill him once, how Clank was actually not in the present, etc. Then his watch went off; a screen appearing in front of him saying "5 MINUTES UNTIL -DOCTOR'S APPOINTMENT-"

"Maybe we should start with going to the quack first." Ratchet shrugged. "Then we can deal with the rest of this."

"I could not agree more." Clank said, as Ratchet set him back down. "And...I am sorry. My actions were truly-"

"Ah ah ah." Ratchet put a finger in the air. "I won't be hearing any of _that_ from you. Your metal ass has been angsty enough today."

Clank was taken aback by that comment. He held a hand to his chest, leaning away from Ratchet. "Pardon?!"

Ratchet chuckled lightly, his heart returning to a normal pulse.


End file.
